Fantasy Football Start Sit

FREE weekly fantasy football who to start &amp sit advice

Our weekly "Who to Start and Sit" column is part of FootballDocs In-season content. All of FootballDocs In-season content is 100% free and starts September 5, 2012.

After starting your studs (typically players ranked after week 5 in the top ~15 RBs, top ~ 10 WRs, top ~ 10 QBs, top ~3 TEs, top ~5
Defenses, and top...wait, no kicker is a fantasy football stud), the Docs will help you decide who to start and sit as we recommend
players in our fantasy football start sit column that are not clear studs and can step in with a big game for your team this week. Consequently, we will not
recommend who to start and sit with the top few players at each position in our weekly fantasy football start sit advice (given starts every week); however, we may occasionally recommend players ranked
15 - 25 overall due to some teams out there that will have multiple players at one position in this range but can only
start one. If we recommend such a player it does not mean we think they are not a stud, we are just trying to help those folks out there that may
be in such a situation. We also recommend players to bench, so our fantasy football start sit column is sometimes referred to as fantasy football start bench column. Additionally, we offer
Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings to help even further with some of those more difficult
start sit decisions. Last, be sure to check us out every Tuesday as we do a Wrap-up on our advice - both good
and bad. In fact, every wrap-up is kept and posted as a permanent, public record of what we called and how good or bad the calls were.
Why?
Three reasons:
1. Accountability.
2. Confidence in our analysis and recommendations.
3. Because the Docs take winning every bit as seriously as you do.

Thank you for visiting and welcome to FootballDocs Fantasy Football - "Where the geeks meet the gridiron."

Kevin Smith, RB, DET - Kevin Smith has 2 things going for him this 1st week of the NFL season. First, he is mostly healthy. This is saying a lot for Smith. He has historically been injured a lot, but he has also been very good when healthy. For Week 1 of the 2012 NFL season, Smith is healthy and ready to play. The second thing that Smith has going is that his primary and secondary completion is not going to play Week 1. Javid Best isn't coming back from concussion, and MikelLeshoure is suspended Week 1. Thus, Smith will be an excellent start against a weak run defense in St. Louis.

Doug Martin, RB, TB - Martin might not have been drafted as your #1 RB, but he could perform like one in Week 1. Martin is going against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Martin has been explosive and he has looked like the best bet to make an impact as a rookie. Martin should be plenty of touches, so don't let LeGarrette Blount scare you away. Start Martin with confidence right out of the gates.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ - Green hasn't done a lot in the preseason to impress, but we think his best is yet to come. Week 1 will be a great place for Greene to start. We wouldn't bench a stud for Greene this week, but he is someone that should have a lot of success against the Buffalo Bills' rush defense.

Michael Bush, RB, CHI - If you are in a deeper league and you need a guy to put in there as a Flex, Bush could be a good option for you in Week 1. Bush is going up against a Colts defense that continues to prove that they don't know how to stop the run. Bush was a good value for you in the draft and now he could help you make it through this first week of 2012.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR - Stewart is banged up with a gimpy ankle and Williams is licking his chops playing a very suspect Tampa run defense.

Nate Washington, WR, TEN - Washington owners got some bad news when it was announced that Kenny Britt would only miss one game. However, this week Britt will not be there. As a result, you have Washington running against the most desirable fantasy matchup for a WR from 2011. The Patriots are going to score a lot of points on the Titans, so Washington should continue to be targeted all game long. Look for a bug week from Washington.

Justin Blackmon, WR, JAX - Don't get carried away, but Blackmon should have an excellent first week against the Vikings. The Vikings were the 4th most desirable defense for your fantasy WR to play against in 2011. They haven't done a whole lot to improve this offseason, so Blackmon could be a nice producer.

Dez Bryant, WR, DAL - If you've got Bryant, get him in there. The Cowboys are pretty banged up at receiver (including TE), and Bryant makes an easy target for Romo.

Robert Meachem, WR, SD - Rivers should waste no time getting acquainted with his new weapon from N'Orlins against the very porous secondary of the Raiders. Meachem is a burner and will give Oakland fits.

Philip Rivers, QB, SD - Some teams may have picked Rivers to be part of a committee after his disappointing 2011 season. In Week 1, Rivers will be lining up against a very fantasy friendly Raiders secondary. There is speculation that Rivers was bothered by an injury last season. Whether it is Rivers' health or good schedule that contribute to a good game, we feel like Rivers is has a big week in store for his fantasy owners.

Brandon Pettigrew, TE, DET - There will be an air assualt by the Lions this week, and there will be plenty of balls to go around for Pettigrew to make a solid fantasy option at your TE slot.

Let 'em warm up the pine (a.k.a. Sit)

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAX - Jones-Drew is going to be back with the Jaguars in Week 1, but you can't count on him after such a lengthy holdout. Leave Jones-Drew on your bench.

Donald Brown, RB, IND - It's awfully crowded in the backfield of Indianpolis, and they've got a tough match-up to boot. This isn't the week to test the Donald Brown waters with your fantasy starting line-up.

Beanie Wells, RB, ARI - This is another bad RBBC situation that makes our stomach turn. To cap off, there isn't much help coming from the QB position to keep the Seahawk's defense honest. Look for the Hawks' D to be looking in the Cardinals' backfield all game long and for Wells to flounder.

Austin Collie, WR, IND - We don't trust Collie's injury history enough to put him in a starting lineup in Week 1. If he shows us he can make it through a game, we will be willing to trust him on a weekly basis.

Brandon Weeden, QB, CLE - Even in deep QB leagues or flex QB leagues, we don't feel safe starting this rookie in Week 1. We think we will warm up to Weeden as the season goes on, but the first week is not the time to blindly trust him. The Browns will be facing off against one of the toughest passing defenses. Last season the Eagles dense struggled, but this year they will have had some time to come together to play at a high level. We think NnamdiAsomugha is going to return to being AwesomeWHA in 2012.

Stevie Johnson, WR, BUF - DarrelleReevis will be inviting Johnson to his Island this first week, so we would rather find another option. Look for Johnson to have a terrible week, and then you might be able to grab him in a trade. Most owners won't give up after 1 week, but a fantasy loss and a terrible week, could drop his fantasy value in some leagues. If that happens, you could be the lucky beneficiary.

For an expanded list of players to help with weekly fantasy football start sit line-up decisions, be sure to check our our Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings, which are released every Thursday during the regular season.